Byeol POV:

‘Another Arcane Dungeon.’

It was a Tower variant, located close to the sea. If you could cross the long distance in a straight line, you would arrive in the continent of Idora.

‘The Storm makes that impossible though!’

The dungeon wasn’t that far from Shako either. Its platform consisted of normal engravings, but each cardinal direction had one symbol that differed.

‘But it’s already been confirmed that engravings aren’t related to the dungeon’s content. Intensive studies across the three continents revealed they are similar to Safe Zones, in the sense that there may be slight deviations in design, colour or structure.’

“Experienced Scout Byeol, we’re always grateful for your hard work, but this dungeon seems strange.”

I nodded my head and took the paperwork from the imperial soldier. Towers always appeared near civilisation, but this one was too far away for it to have an immediate impact on Shako.

‘Which means...’

The danger this Arcane Dungeon possessed couldn’t be overlooked. It was even more unusual because this entire area lacked monsters due to Lady Chloe eradicating them.

“What a strange choice of location...”

“We all think so too. That must be why many Scouts have been skeptical about going inside since it appeared one week ago.”

I gave him a soft nod and continued reading over the paperwork again. There wasn’t much information that could be obtained without going inside the actual dungeon, but the points we had just discussed played a big role in where and why Arcane Dungeons appeared in certain locations.

95% of the time, it wasn’t random.

“What did Lamar say about it?”

Beads of sweat rolled down the man’s healthy skin. Everyone knew Lamar in Sharir, yet no one knew him, too.

“He just gave me the thumbs up while sleeping.”

A light chuckle left my mouth at the expected answer. The soldier’s cheeks turned dark red before he took a few steps back and looked to the side. If Lamar wasn’t worried, then the danger level shouldn’t be too high, but this was an Arcane Dungeon we were talking about!

‘...I’m looking forward to our date, Gerard.’

A strong heat warmed the air around my face. I stared at the ground, playing out how the entire experience would go. I already bought a new dress just for him...

U-um... We would... take the step to tie the knot... To be together forever.

‘T-that’s right! I want to marry you, Gerard!!’

I covered my face with my hands. It took me a few minutes to calm the beating of my heart down enough to hear myself think.

I love how he made me feel. It was so... genuine but sad at the same time.

“!”

‘Oops!’

Something so important had slipped my mind! It wasn’t a good sign for a Scout to forget things! Though I knew it was because my focus was on G-Gerard.

“I’ll be back in two days! I forgot to put Shun’s loot away!”

The man’s face lost most of its colour. He looked to the side and parted his lips.

“Y-y-you work for that m-m-maniac?”

I couldn’t help laughing at how all the soldiers reacted the same once they found out I was his personal Scout. Their look of horror would turn into one of deep concern.

But I knew Shun was an outcast by choice. Phoebe wouldn’t fall for a hateful man.

I wanted him to smile.

I hoped that he would step out of the darkness and embrace the light again, so I opened my mouth to say my true thoughts as always.

“He’s a great guy at heart!”

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I spun around and ran off. Putting everything away wouldn’t take too long to do.

‘Um... Shun does have a ton of stuff actually...’

***

Shun POV:

“Retsu.”

My Ki spread out across the dark ground. It covered the party members before red and white Shinobi Banners marked off the Domain’s borders.

“Rin.”

Rin represented Power, but Retsu represented Spatial Control. As long as the party members remained within the Domain, they would receive the benefits the Kuji-kiri offered.

The explosive increase in strength led to Gerard’s fists blasting holes through dozens of Sentri Warriors with ease. Katherine splayed her hand, forming hundreds of lifelike water serpents in an instant. They shot out condensed Elemental Ki that vaporised numerous Sentri Warriors rushing toward us in an endless wave.

“Sentri Style: Wind Barricade!”

The Sentri and Sentri Warriors changed formation. It was a technique that could be strengthened by groups of Sentri, and they took advantage of that. A powerful wind barrier grew in size. It offset Katherine’s attack enough for the Sentri to continue restricting our movements to a corner of the large castle hall.

My lips curved upward once the Sentri Knights stepped forward. They utilised even more techniques to focus on reducing the damage output Katherine was capable of. Three Armoured Sentri Knights crashed down onto the battlefield, forcing the lower-ranked Sentri to fall back.

“Again? Why do these Floor Bosses keep grouping together?”

Phoebe’s genuine concern was met with the narrowing of Aiden’s eyes. The Armoured Sentri Knights wore armour made from their grey scales. It fused with parts of their body and enhanced all physical attributes by an astronomical amount.

They were good, but Zinyul would destroy them with his eyes closed.

So why would I give a damn about them?

[Floor Boss: Armoured Sentri Knight]

“I am Yijzo—“

“Rin. Pyō. Tō.”

My hands blurred before facing Yijzo. A white tiger head roared; its fangs tore into the Sentri’s abdomen, crushing through the armour it was proud of. The slight wounds were ignited with flames and joined by a faint gash on his cheek.

Yijzo barely managed to twist his neck out of the kunai’s path when my foot kicked off his face. I fell back into the party’s formation, prompting Phoebe’s lips to form a soft smile at the rationality I displayed.

“Shun, you’re fighting great.”

The veins around my mouth bulged, but my intense glare only made Phoebe’s cheeks go darker. Gerard found the entire exchange funny while Aiden complimented his laughter with a slight smile.

“I agree! This is so much easier.”

His Ki exploded the moment he charged back to the front. Gerard took the aggro off everyone, and the tall Armoured Sentri Knights turned their swords toward the closest target. Sword Blitzes rained down on him till a giant fist made their guards rise.

“Defensive Burst.”

The detonation of Ki silenced hundreds of Sentri, despite the Floor Bosses chaining techniques together to defend a large area behind them. Katherine levitated into the air, and water tornadoes spiralled down from the ceiling.

She flexed her fingers, and the assault began. Waves morphed into drills, then spears. Swords elongated into thin arrows that rained down on the Sentri. Their HP fell, but the compactness of their movements reduced the effectiveness of the widespread onslaught.

“Pyō.”

I flickered to the front beside Gerard. We directed, defended, and deflected the horde of attacks. I moved in a mechanical manner that surprised him at the new control we had over the Sentri’s mobility.

“Wizard.”

I jumped back to act as a support and levitated next to Katherine. Her lips formed an irritating smile once both our hands stretched forward. Water and wind spiralled together, crushing the progress the Sentri Knights had made into our expanding line of defence.

“Spy.”

I moved with Aiden and Phoebe, releasing an accurate spray of bullets to help with our DPS output. The spinning pistol rested against a Sentri’s head before exploding a corpse back into its mindless comrades. I returned to the party’s rhythm, controlling the annoyance swirling inside of me.

‘...’

The process continued for another hour until all the monsters were wiped out. I peered down at the dead corpse of a Sentri Warrior. Its head snapped backward and crushed through the castle walls but failed to take my frustration with it.

Katherine’s water wrapped around the party members who sustained light injuries. I didn’t need her healing when I could do it myself.

“Is everyone alright?”

“...Yeah.”

“Yeah, our rhythm is great. No complaints from me.”

“I am also fine, thank you.”

I ignored Phoebe’s gaze and examined the castle’s interior. Its intricacy rivalled the city Floors; this was evident by the arcadings that connected to different passages. Those pathways formed a network that the Sentri had memorised and taken advantage of.

Whether it was the bailey or the hall, the Sentri Knights would utilise formations to confine our movements into the smallest area possible. This was done to restrict Katherine’s range by applying more pressure on Gerard. Rather than focusing on the enemies from afar, she would have no choice but to support Gerard’s role as a tank.

The only reason their plan worked was because of how damn caring Katherine was. Phoebe also wanted the party’s rhythm to slow down, but the Sentri Knights thought the pressure was the cause of that change.

Their all-out assault was met with several crushing defeats until the Armoured Sentri Knights appeared. From the reports they had received, they reached the conclusion that a tactical, fast pace battle would tire Katherine out. The plan was to split her attention on attacking, defending and supporting while adding pressure to the other party members.

The endless wave of Sentri were used to spam large-scale combination techniques. This would offset Katherine’s attempts to give the group a breather. The only problem with their plan was that they only considered Katherine a threat.

‘...’

Once the keep had been seized from the Sentri, the Floor Exit could be found. However, I had yet to come across any Sentri Teachers. The fake Katherine’s Ki Armour was around the Shin Stage, but I only confirmed that after killing it.

In other words, not only were those monsters adept at hiding their Ki, but they also seemed to be able to obtain some information based on the form they shapeshifted into. That was why the fake Katherine approached me after watching the real Katherine’s interaction with Aiden.

I surmised that with the genocide of most of their species, the weaker ones that remained hid in the dark and studied the surrounding monsters in order to blend in. This would increase their chances of survival now that they lost the means to fight back.

I cocked my head to the side, content with my reasoning thus far.

“Talky, have you found anything?”